#anyway. Hi Modeus!!!

[salty-an-disco]

@modeus-the-unbound (answering here cuz this is the STP-dumping ground lmao)

Hmmmmm, not at first, I feel like. While Ada fights for the fun of it, Beast does it for a need for survival. She isn’t having fun fighting you, she’s doing it so that she can live. I don’t think she’d take it well to being fought unless she feels entirely safe and secure (and honestly, Ada’s bloodlust might even put her off).

[modeus-the-misanthrope]

MODEUS'S BETTER DLC PLOTLINE! (According to my own personal tastes.) Now I am going to order this from, Easiest/Simplest changes to make to the hardest/most complex changes to make.

Stage 1.

Replace Radahn being Miquella's consort with Godwyn. Yes, this makes Miquella, the Brother Lover, still canon. But Miquella has already tried so many ways to fully kill Godwyn in the base game that it comes across as a fixation, it would make sense that if he were in the land where all death resides, and decide, "Well, if killing him fully won't work. What about bringing him back? The only way to do it seems to be taking my own brother as my consort...but I wouldn't mind Godwyn as my consort. He was super nice and really strong." That keeps Miquella's established character motivation from the base game, but also extends it as the DLC did. Why would Freya be there? Make Radahn's body part of the ritual to bring back Godwyn the same as Mogh's was. Easy. I can fully believe that you would need two demigods to bring back someone's soul from the dead.

Yes this does mean a completely new bossfight. Don't care. The final boss of a damned 40$ dlc should not be a remixed or a recycled boss. Tough titties, Fromsoftware.

Stage 2.

Radahn's soul could have still played a factor in the story. Maybe he carried the mental scars from what the scarlet rot made him do into the afterlife, causing him to be nearly broken in spirit. Now he simply sits with his back against a massive tree/rock, in a small area cut off from the rest of the Lands of Shadow, depressed and mourning how he idolized Godfrey when this place and the eternal genocide occuring in it were part of his legacy.

Bonus points if you wanna get spicy with it. Have Malenia also be there if you killed her in the base game, now feeling abandoned by the twin she dedicated herself towards. She sits on the opposite side of the tree/stone to Radahn, in a similar sitting pose as him, as they talk about mundane things like the weather. Basically being two proud warriors who don't know how to apologize to eachother for their fight, both feeling guilty now that they know it was for such horrid or petty reasons.

Stage 3.

Almost all of the Demigods should have been NPC's you could interact with in the DLC. Morgott sitting at the top of the Suppresion Pillar trying to reconcile his faith in the Erdtree with the fact that in this culture he would have been practically worshipped for the traits he and his twin were shunned for. Placidusax lounging next to the Grand Altar of the Grand Altar of Dragon Communion, having forgiven you now that their body has been fully restored in death. Rykard back in human form with a suspiciously large serpent pet, enjoying the tranquility of the Cerulean coast. While obviously scheming to feed his serpent all the corpses inside of the massive Stone Coffins, but not knowing anyway to break them open.

Basically gimme a story that felt like it took two years to write. Cause while the gameplay, level design, and atmosphere are 11/10's. The story of this dlc in regards to Miquella, is TERRIBLE.

[modeus-vibing-archive]

Had a headcanon I wanted to share. Technically this is for a "Modeus and Baul both live and are friends (Modeus) or rivals (Baul) with Dante" AU, but anyway.

-Modeus and Baul both let Patty style their hair. Modeus does it first, because Patty asks (Patty: "You just have so much hair! It's so long and pretty!"), and Baul follows his brother's example. They're both fond of Patty (Baul, grinning: "She's all frills and vinegar."), Baul is just more awkward about it because he's not used to being around kids. Its like having a tiny kitten follow him around, to him. Patty's something small and fragile and also a person and he doesn't really know how to act around human children. He tries to be nice to her, tho, in his own hesitant, fumbling way. Modeus is better with kids.

Anyway, Patty does their hair. Maybe Patty even manages to rope Dante into it, too. There's a lot of frilly ribbons and braids and probably at least one pair of pigtails. I think Modeus could probably teach Patty some other ways to braid long hair, too, since he has so much practice with his own hair.

I- I...

I LOVE THIS!

I absolutely have no words. I just... I LOVE YOUR HEADCANON!

[quinloki]

Well, I have nothing on the brain lately regarding Arlong and while Beckman has been on the brain I still have nothing really to share. So, per @kazieai's sharing I got to thinking about one of my snake OC's that I sent in the previous time you asked for gushes.

I'm going with Modeus, or as you described him the "not friend-shaped" & "too bitey" OC. I talked about him since then and honestly couldn't remember anything I had come up with for him because I'm a dork. I had forgotten that I had gifted him a Hiss-Hiss fruit and I now would like to rescind all of that.

As you pointed out to Kaz, her OC could just inherently have wind powers just as easily as all Minks glow like Tesla coils. I've found that how I've constructed Modeus' characterization in terms of personality and diet do not lend themselves well to devil fruits. We haven't really seen a Zoan Devil Fruit that makes the user eat other people. At least, as far as I know, X Drake hasn't regularly consumed a steady diet of people based out of nutritional need.

So I'm thinking Modeus' DF would not give him reason to consume people when he was in full Yuan-ti form. And if he's going to be as old as I want him to be, then he can't have a DF because as far as I know, Marco has the only immortal fruit. Or are there more immortal DF users walking around (because let's face it, I am never going to catch up to speed)? Anyway, I think he needs to actually be a snake person.

Not necessarily the Yuan-ti from the D&D Monster Manual (3.5 edition), but definitely a snake creature that I pattern strongly off the physical appearance of a Yuan-ti.

Is he a member of a reptilian based tribe? Is he a bastardization of some fishman hybrid with god only knows what else? Is he some kind of mutated hybrid offspring of a Sea King? Is he a lab experiment? Is he a demon?

I don't know what the hell he is at this point. But, he does eat people. He does hate pretty much everyone. He can shapeshift sort of into a human-esque being for ease of mobility through populated areas. He does end up joining the Cross Guild.

He still hates that he can't figure out how to eat Alvida. He hates that Buggy is smart enough to avoid being eaten as well. He has a healthy fear (respect) for Daz since he could theoretically skin Modeus alive with literally any part of his own body. He has a solid respect for Mihawk both as a person and as a swordsman (because remember, Modeus dual wields scimitars). And he HATES Sir Crocodile with an unyielding passion.

Why?

No one really knows. Sir Crocodile doesn't care, he just knows Modeus hates him and he banks on that for every last one of their interactions. I still think Trafalgar and Bepo should end up with the Cross Guild now that the Heart Pirates are no longer. Modeus desperately wants to eat Bepo but he has learned not to try because Trafalgar is dangerous enough to be a threat to Modeus' immediate safety and comfort.

Having skinned just enough off of Modeus for a pair of new snake-skin boots certainly got the point across. Trafalgar's people are his people and therefore not for eating.

Mihawk, because he is quite possibly the only HUMAN who gets along with Modeus, makes the suggestion that instead of collecting the bounties of the Marines he could save the Cross Guild the payout by simply eating his bounty. Modeus loves this idea and proceeds to take the most difficult bounties and devours them when he catches them. To make sure he is an honest and contributing member of the Guild, he always brings the bounty back to the Cross Guild alive first, so they can see he isn't lying (this was his own idea, no one has ever questioned his honesty/loyalty) and then takes them into the woods to eat them.

It has been requested by the Guild higher ups that he not eat his quarry at night as it is increasingly difficult to sleep to the sounds of murder and the dying screams of terrified men. Bepo has been suffering profusely from nightmares since they joined the Guild and Mihawk thinks it best that mealtimes for Modeus coincide with everyone else's regular mealtimes.

Once Modeus realizes he's in love with Avalon, he starts offering to share his quarried meals with her. Being the lady of grace that she is, she declines most of the time. Her lamia form does have a "feeding frenzy" mode and when that is active then she takes him up on mealtimes and they eat together.

Which creeps even Trafalgar out. But that only occurs about once every quarter or so. Avalon lives on a DF-mandated schedule whereas Modeus simply is as evil as he can get away with.

Fun facts regarding Modeus and the Admirals. He is ill-paired with former Admiral Aokiji, the popsicle ability does exactly as you would think with a reptile-based lifeform. Slows him down considerably and makes him sluggish. Fleet Admiral Sakazuki has the opposite effect on Modeus and makes him "better" in every way. While Sakazuki strives to avoid confrontations with Modeus, Modeus strives to avoid confrontations with Kuzan.

Issho and Borsalino are neutral regarding Modeus. He doesn't like the gravity effects of Issho's fruit but can work around them if he needs to. Likewise, he isn't as fast as Borsi Baby but the Admiral has a hard time getting through Modeus' scales.

Aramaki on the other hand, well, he's a royal pain in the ass just as Modeus is a royal pain in the ass for him. Modeus is at home in a forest. The Admiral can go as woodsy as he wants and it just helps Modeus. However, the whole regrowing bit drives Modeus up a wall because he cuts a tree limb there and another grows here to replace it. They are equally matched and equally mismatched at the same time. Their fights always end up a stalemate with them hating each other's guts immensely.

Aramaki takes after the Fleet Admiral and tries to avoid confrontations for these reasons whereas Modeus takes after Kuzan and goes out of his way to confront Aramaki just to annoy him. Kuzan in turn likes engaging with Modeus to irritate him, I don't think Kuzan wants to kill him but he does like aggravating him when the opportunity presents itself.

And that's all I have this go-around.

I gotta be honest one of my most favoritest parts about this is how you have the relationships worked out. Who has a leg up where and who doesn't, and it all makes great sense too, I love it.

(I admittedly think it would also be good for Modeus to "experience" Bepo going Sulong during a full moon. I think Law suggests it as a way for Bepo to stand up for himself. At least for a few minutes Modeus realizes he's food to Bepo, not the other way around).

I just really love all the little details though, the slight differences between him and Avalon and how their different circumstances and vibes intertwine and vary.

I look forward you to sorting out the exact details of his origin too ^_^ He might not be friend shaped, but he is interesting.

To clarify, Marco's DF doesn't make him immortal in the "live forever" sense, it just makes him nigh indestructible. He still ages, and will likely die of old age at some point.

That said, there are possibilities for people who are immortal thanks to earlier owners of the Ope-Ope No Mi, so immortality is still a canonical viable thing.

[namimikan]

anyway, curious to see how modeus deals with accidental murder, anyway. killing is bad, sure, but if you kill someone in order to save someone else, what is his conscience going to tell him? did he do the right thing or not, in a split second decision?

[silverstream2]

More Baul and Modeus headcanons

-They're both pretty physically affectionate with one another, especially for demons. Partly due to Sparda’s influence (*insert "cuddle bug" pun here*), and partly because of how they were raised. They were meant to fight as a pair, equals but also opposites. Sometimes they bicker and fight, or even go their own ways, but its easy for them to click once they get back together. Unless something major happens, some major disagreement, like what happened with who gets Sparda's power, and all that.

Might just headcanon them being physically affectionate as a normal demon thing, for them? At least for their type of demon, anyway. It's about scent marking and sharing body warmth, that kind of thing. Which probably translates to "cuddle your tiny, squishy human friend and wrap them in your coat to keep them Warm" whenever it gets cold out, especially if the human is a child. Baul is probably the one most likely to do this, tbh- Modeus probably knows more about Personal Space by now, but Baul is just like. Running more on instincts? "Must keep Friend Warm, must protect Friend from harm, must make sure Friend smells like me/my group". "Must protect the younger members of the group, must keep them Warm, must make sure they are Fed and Safe". Constantly carries around snacks and hand sanitizer (the harsh smell makes his nose burn, but keeping the human young clean is Important) and tissues, especially during the colder seasons.

That, and Baul's main reference to "what level of physical affection is acceptable" is way out of date, and also based on humans that were his comrades in arms- which tends to be a high stress thing, where you're more okay with physical affection than you might otherwise be, because its comforting. Like, Baul still does the whole "affectionate headbutt" thing that soldiers do, largely because you can't really hug someone while they're wearing armor and a helmet, but you CAN knock your helmets together to show affection. Which is sweet, but also not really a thing normal humans do in society anymore (with a few exceptions).

-I doubt Dante would be down for cuddling with the guy that tried to kill him and take his soul, but maybe??? Idk. Maybe after they beat the shit out of one another a couple of times, and Baul helps with the whole Sid thing, and maybe the whole Order thing, too, Idk. I headcanon that Dante has his own "cuddle bug" demon instincts, just not with Modeus and Baul. Definitely with Nero, tho, and Abbie and Trish.

-The lads are hairy, in their human forms. Their demon forms are covered in fur, it looks like, in canon (or at least as canon as the DMC anime can be considered), so I'm gonna headcanon that whatever part of the Underworld they're from is probably cold, or has cold seasons. This also means they've got thick body hair, in their humans forms. I'm playing with the idea of them growing winter coats, tbh, and that maybe translating over into them growing more hair/body and facial hair when it gets cold? Like. Modeus' hair gets so long and thick he just straight up braids it and uses it as a scarf (Baul: "Somebody is going to strangle you with that one day, brother, and I am going to laugh when that happens."), and Baul's hair grows out so much it looks like a lion's mane (Modeus: "You look like a dandelion."). Baul would probably grow facial hair, Modeus I don't think could stand it. Might change that last bit later on, Idk.

It might make more sense for Baul to be adapted to a winter environment, and Modeus to be adapted for a forest one? Just because Baul has white fur and hair and Modeus has brown hair and fur. Maybe wherever they were born/lived in the Underworld was between an ice plane and a demonic jungle (like the kind we see Echidna create/live in)? Might go some ways to explaining why a pair of twins would have such different fur coloring.

They also like to cuddle and stay indoors, preferably wrapped in a blanket or in bed, or at least in warm clothing, when it gets cold out. All their demon instincts tell them to stay somewhere safe in their territory/den, warm, with as much food as they can gather.

Also because they're both inhuman, and old as balls, so their ideas of what's socially acceptable for public displays of affection, especially for men, are kinda skewed and/or out of date. Modeus is probably more versed in it than Baul is, just because Modeus has been in the Human Realm more/longer than Baul has, but tbh, I'm still not sure how much either of them would care about following society's rules. Toxic masculinity is bullshit, and all that.

-(For the AU where they both live past Episode 10 of the anime) They both kinda adopt/bond with Patty, in their own ways. Modeus we already saw in the anime, but Baul I think would be fond of her, too. "She's all vinegar. And frills. I like her. Tough little kid."

Baul's still always nervous around kids, especially little kids. They're just so small! And fragile! And he doesn't really know what to do with them. He's gotten better at it, to be fair, after 2,000 years, especially with Modeus' and Dante's help, but they still make him nervous. He's always worried he'll make a mistake around them and hurt them, or scare them, or make them cry. (That and demon parents- those that don't just abandon or eat their young- tend to be ferociously protective of their young, so Baul's always halfway expecting that from human parents.)

With Patty, all of that kinda translates into Baul awkwardly trying to protect her- which mostly means she has him wrapped around her finger. Dante and Modeus calling her out on it and giving Baul advice helps her not go mad with power.

Tbh, I think Baul would help Sid with summoning Abigail, if Sid threatened Patty or Nina (Patty's mom) first. It'd help that Baul also is like, 90% confident that Dante could defeat Abigail, or Sid, if Sid absorbed Abigail's powers. Because if Dante could defeat Mundus, could make himself and even his brother Modeus look like weaklings, then something like Abigail, and especially someone as weak as SID, wouldn't be a problem for him.

-Baul's love language is acts of service and physical affection. For physical affection, this mostly manifests in gentle, loving headbutts, hugs (he's a big guy, so he'll just pick you up or hunch himself over you, engulfing you in his arms and squeezing you in a hug), cuddling (platonic or otherwise), head pats or combing his fingers through your hair (please do likewise to him, he loves that shit- its a sort of demon preening thing), and hand holding. Also sparring and helping you stretch. Even if he's stronger than you, he's still proud of you for training and trying to improve. Especially if you do it scared. (That's one of the things he likes about Abbie- she's terrified of demons, including him, and she still stands up to him/them and fights anyway. Its like a sort of verbal Defeat Means Friendship kind of thing.)

Acts of service can be basic stuff, doing chores or running errands for you, but mostly it manifests as him offering to kill demons/people for you. Like, that person made you cry? They were abusive assholes to you? Would you like them maimed or dead? No? How about biting? Is he allowed to bite them for you? Would that make you feel better? What do you need?

(This also means that Baul kinda wants to punch Vergil, once they get to the whole Qliphoth thing, because Vergil makes/made his friend Abbie sad. Baul and Modeus both want to slap Vergil for what he did to Temen-ni-gru, since putting that seal in place cost Gwen her life and had such a negative effect on Sparda- that was the first time they'd seen him cry and be depressed- not to mention what it cost humanity, and how hard the humans had to work to get their world to the point it is now. But that's a more distant thing- the difference between seeing an alive friend cry over a broken heart, and somebody stomping on your old friend's grave.)

He's not very good at like. Emotional stuff. Like TALKING about his emotions or offering comforting words. Even using sign language, he still fumbles. Mostly he just tries to hug you better. But he does try. Modeus is better at comforting words, so Baul will go ask him for advice, and try and learn how to be better at it.

Like. He tends to get pretty emotionally attached/devoted to people... not exactly easily, but fairly quickly.

-I'm not sure if Baul and Abbie could be friends, tbh. It depends on how much Baul is willing to let go of his whole "kill Dante to get Sparda's power" thing. If Baul did let it go, tho, then I could see them being friends after the whole thing with Patty and Sid. Modeus and Baul probably spent that whole mission trying to get Patty and Nina out of the burning building and protecting them from demons- and since Baul was needed for the ritual, he probably had more time to interact with Patty, too. Like I said, he'd go along with Sid, but he'd try to make sure Patty was okay, too. Try to keep her calm, reassure her that everything will be alright, all that.

[fabdante]

Not sure if you've seen the Devil May Cry anime from 2007 (it's not Great, but its not horrible either, so :/ ), but if you have:

What do you think reboot Modeus and Baul could be like? I feel like there's stuff you could do with them- more than the anime did, anyway. But that's true for the reboot and preboot, tbh.

I did watch the anime! But honestly I uh...Don't Remember Much. From what I know of it though I do think the concept of Modeus and Baul in the reboot would be interesting. I enjoy fleshing out Sparda's life pre abandoning everything for Eva and I have a lot of OCs around the concept and I think it'd only make sense if he had underlings of some sort, so I think Modeus and Baul's role as his apprentices would be an interesting opportunity to explore what that might be like in the context of the reboot and also just kinda flesh out more of what the demon world is like there. Definitely something fun to work with!

[inland--empire]

Anyway hi Beelzebub, i am Modeus, have we met before?-Modeus

Maybe??? I dunno.-Beezle

[modeus-vibing-archive]

That there is Modeus' best friend. I will elaborate:

He lets her talk/rant to him for IDK how many hours at the park! He could have asked why she's ranting to him or to stop but he didn't. He listened. Modeus probably would rather listen to her talk than sitting there alone in his thoughts.

Anyways: Patty is Modeus' best friend and no one will stop me.

Chibi Patty Lowell

If Party has no fans then I’m dead xx

[nightowlqueen]

Kills me how no one was able to protect Dante from the demonic horrors he first experienced at 8 years old (Eva tried) and everyday since.

Then decades later he meets Patty, another 8 year old child, being hunted by demons and he tries to shield her from those same horrors even though he occassionally fails at it.

And when he's not able to protect her from all of these horrors he still tries to at least keep the worst of it away from her.

(like when he lies about what happened to Modeus, who she was becoming friends with)

Even then, by the end of the series she seen so much of it despite his best efforts :(

But, they've found her mom alive and well and he wants Patty to live with her and have a normal happy life (the kind he never got to have)

He loves this kid so much man.

(And then she stays a part of his life anyway. She comes back to the Devil May Cry to visit/help out cause she loves him and the rest of the DMC gang just as much)

[adlinkai]

Not Hyrule AU Link

In this butchered AU, we decided to go off of OoT for Link's backstory. Summed up, his mother was jumped while they were travelling and gravely injured. She managed to get to a nearby village where she and a week old Link were taken in by a charitable plague doctor named Modeus Blakk. Despite Blakk's efforts, Link's mom succumbed to her wounds anyway and died. Modeus decided to adopt Link and raise him as his own. Link learned everything he knows about swords shields and bows from Modeus' husband, Tybout Blakk, who happens to be a retired royal knight. Link's usual routine consists of visiting his mother's grave and working for whoever needs help in the village.

Link also has a British accent in this due to both of his dads being British. :)

[durativo]

Forget fighting. Modeus is just going to steal all your sweets

“Modeus. I didn’t know you weren’t a fan of having fingers.” Because you’re about to not have any.

[froggykinz]

I’m fine revealing myself to you, I promise.

hi hi!! It is I!

I’m a huge Lucifer fan. Don’t mind me—

Anyways, sorry for not revealing myself sooner. I got nervous about coming out and admitting that I am, well, me!

I already had considered you a friend, too, I just felt really nervous since I was sure if you were in the same boat as me.

And you should totally get a bunch more Modeus icons!!

I’m guessing she’s one of your favourite characters? I can’t remember if I’ve asked you that before, y’know. I have bad memory. I’m literally a bafoon.

I feel like it is a bit of a dummy moment of me to post this, but shhh— I got this covered— I think??

I’m really happy to be your friend and I hope we can interact more! I’d like to get to know you a ton more!!

You may call me whatever you wish, too! and on the house, if you want stuff made, I can try!

I can’t make stuff to your standard— examples of what I’ve been capable of doing have already been posted.

But, again, it’s lovely to be your friend!!

Oh my dear, hewwo!!!! It’s absolutely no problem at all being nervous, I can’t blame you for it mweh!!

I think you asked me before but I have a hard time choosing favorites, but I’d say Modeus is one of mine!! I also really love lucifer too because waaa she’s such a cutie! How can lucifer be so cute?? >:’D

And oh my gosh, your gif icons you posted are so pretty what the heck!! I’m not a big requester at all, but if I ever do feel the need to I’d love to go to you someday!! 

It’s lovely to be your friend too and I’d love to get to know you more in the future, my dear!! 💕💕

Mod Froggy - Azazel

[quinloki]

Nothing particularly awesome happened today, Daylight Savings has messed up my sleep so bad I'm currently functioning on a mere 4 hours sleep. When speaking I can barely put words into a sentence but writing has always been my forte so hopefully this is far more coherent. Yesterday I tweaked my masterlists and organized them proper, so that made me happy.

No one really interacts with my stuff on Wattpad which is fine, because the exact same works are doing GREAT on AO3. My Arlong collection has been viewed over 240 times, has 11 kudos, and has received 2 comments from people. Rabid Devotion has 3 kudos and has been bookmarked once with only 50+ views, Better Mousetrap has 170+ views and 2 kudos, while Slinktober isn't slated to be updated/finished until July and yet it has 55+ views and 3 kudos. It has more kudos than Mousetrap and more views than Rabid. So that's happy stuff. And I do get views and likes here on tumblr, more so than on Wattpad—that's my worst showing despite being my preferred writing platform. Go figure.

Anyway, I thought I'd follow your little OC template you provided in your request post for good stuff while you recuperate from a trying day. As always, I am here to try and provide. Also as always, this runs egregiously long.

Tell me more about an OC? -:- if you've told me about them before: Do you have new art of them? Have you made new lore? Discarded anything/changed something?

I'm going to gloss over the fact that you asked about OCs and just focus on giving you more about Arlong and my self-ship Keiko. I am working on my OCs but I find them to be exhausting because I'm not to a place where I can create originally again, I'm still healing from writing hurt. I'm getting a lot better but the mojo just isn't there yet, so the majority of them have been indefinitely shelved. Especially the two snake-like OCs (Lon Lon & Modeus—though I did add a little more to him than her).

I have no art of Arlong yet, and I have NOT tried drawing Arlong in my cartoon style, though I guess I could now that I think about it. He'll look awful but I headcanon the man has no artistic skill whatsoever, so I could easily pass the drawing off as his handiwork instead of mine. I think it'd be funny if Arlong's drawing skills were on the same level as Luffy. He'd never admit to it because he hates Luffy which is why I think their levels in art should be equal.

Now that I know Arlong is a sawfish and not a sawshark, I have one more thing to goad him with besides being an amphibian and a separate species from the fishwomen. Clearly, I enjoy tormenting the man. This is, in fact, along the same vein of how we met.

I keep changing the official story of how we met until I can find one that makes the most sense. What stays the same each time is that Arlong and his boys are the first fishmen I'd ever seen. I also am functioning on my self-insert as having been semi-isekai'd (that's the trope where you die in your world and end up in another, right?). Except, I didn't exactly die. I like the planeswalking thing of MtG so I just work off of that more or less.

Anywho, I thought I'd share the story of how I met Arlong and how I at the very least piqued his attention enough to not get killed right off the bat. It started not with a hello but with a "can I touch you?"

~~~~~~~~~~~

Just a Touch

"Can I touch you?" I held up my hand to show I genuinely meant touch in a I-want-to-understand-something sort of way and not the I-want-to-touch-for-X-amount-of-berries sort of way. I mostly just pointed to his arm with the stylized fish tattoo to really drive home the point that this was a non-sexual request on my part.

The fishman laughed down at me, literally. "And why would I let a puny human girl touch me, a superior fishman?"

"Curiosity?" I don't know why I'm answering with a question, I am curious. It's not a question but the way in which he responded made me feel oh so small. Puny indeed.

He raised an eyebrow, "curiosity you say? And what is so curious about us, hm? We're not circus freaks put on display for you girl, get lost before I lose my temper and explore a curiosity of my own." The eyebrow fell as he switched from condescension to threatening. He stood straighter to punctuate that he was significantly bigger than me and besides being tall enough to probably step on me, he certainly could bite my head off.

I don't know why, but the whole exchange hurt. My hands fell to my sides, my shoulders sagged, and I had to bite my lip to keep the tears that were welling up from falling down. I hate crying in front of others and I sure as hell wasn't going to cry in front of this jerk. I lifted my chin to keep my head high, I wasn't going to let him bully me but I needed to heed the threat at the same time.

One tear did manage to slip down my cheek as I glared back at him before turning silently on my heel and briskly walking away. I didn't look back once. If I had, I'd have seen how he tilted his head to the side with an expression caught between anger and confusion.

I don't know what they were doing on the island, I'd gone to great lengths to ensure I didn't run into any of them all day long. Day turned to night and night turned to morning. A new day that I hoped would pass without issue. That turned out to be a futile hope. I had been spying on the beach since dawn broke, to ensure the intruders weren't there before heading down to look for shells or other odds and ends that washed up during the night.

I'd been traipsing through the sand for only about twenty minutes when I shadow fell over me and loomed for several feet beyond mine. Well shit, guess I have company after all.

"You now it's dangerous to keep your back unprotected with fishmen around. I could have killed you multiple times." Judging from the low rumbly voice, it was the same fishman from yesterday. The sharky one.

Keeping my back to him I answered, "I have no doubt since I'm such a lowly and puny little human girl." The word feels like acid on my tongue. Girl, as if I were a mere child and not the adult that I was. Just one more way for others to strip me of my own agency and keep me low in the hierarchy of life. I didn't feel so low before these fishmen showed up and within twenty-four hours I was starting to believe the lies people mutter as I walk by.

I heard him sigh behind me whether in anger or exasperation I couldn't say. Suddenly the shadow got shorter and shorter which did nothing more but make me curious about him all over again. I turn to see why his shadow retreated. The sharkman squatted down, now balancing on his toes and his arms resting on his knees as he undoubtedly scrutinized me. Even squatting down he was taller than me and I was not short by any means. Okay I was, but this is the Grand Line, everyone is taller than they are in the other four seas. In any of the four Blues I am tall but on the Grand Line I'm tiny and this guy was making me feel even tinier.

"I will permit you to touch me just this once." He stared at me head on with an almost passive expression. I have no clue what's going through his head or what his game is, but he seems calm and this is my golden opportunity.

I reach for the arm with the tattoo and hesitate for a few seconds, trying to anticipate if it's a trap or not. Deciding it's not I continue until my fingers touch his arm. First my fingertips because I don't really know what I'm doing or what I expect. He's not really reacting, just watching in silence. Meanwhile my mind is racing, why did he change his mind? Why is he so calm now? Is he going to kill me afterwards?

Despite my panicking thoughts, I continue my quest for my answer to the question only I knew. My fingertips move forward and my fingers are now fully connected with his forearm; my fingers gliding up and down the forearm then side-to-side. I trace along the tattoo as well. I'm sure he must think me insane at this point as this is clearly not normal behavior for anyone, human or otherwise.

He simply continues to stare and doesn't say anything. But I do. I furrow my own brows at the contact and quietly sigh under my breath, "well that's disappointing." I totally forgot whose arm this was. I totally forgot he was literally right there, could hear me, and that just yesterday threatened to kill me publicly. He didn't even try to hide his hostility. Yet here I am, insulting him, to his face, with no witnesses for my murder. Genius Keiko, real smooth. Way to keep your lifespan going.

"What do you mean, disappointing? What were exactly were you expecting little one?" I don't know if this was a step up or down from girl but I'll take it for now because he's not killing me yet. In fact, he still hadn't so much as twitched.

I, maybe carefully, maybe bravely—I no longer know where I fall in terms of adjectives and adverbs—look him in the eyes, his beautiful icy blue eyes (get your head in the game Keiko, you could be mere seconds from being headless and he still wouldn't have to move his arms to do it). "Don't take this the wrong way but you're the disappointment here."

I'm a dead woman. That's it, this is where it ends for me. I may as well just strip out of my mortal coil myself and hand it to him.

He raises a single eyebrow again, and with just a hint of mirth to his voice prolongs my inevitable demise, "how have I disappointed you?"

"Look, I don't know anything about fishmen. This island doesn't have any books on them and until yesterday I'd never seen one before. You're as foreign as foreign can get for me. Based on how the locals were screaming, you must be the shark. Yes?"

He finally smirks and has an expression that is semi-readable. Amusement. I'm amusing him. Well, at least I'm not offending him as that ends in death. Though amusement could also end in death but for now, I'm still breathing and that's a good sign.

"Yes, I'm the shark. Arlong the Saw and I am a sawshark fishman."

"Great, nice to meet you Arlong. Now, as I was saying, and again I mean no offense, but for a shark you're an utter disappointment."

Arlong, as he's apparently called, leans in close to me and it's only now that I see why he's called the Saw. His nose is razor sharp, all he'd have to do is twitch to either side in rapid succession and he could cut my head off. It's like he has a sword growing out of his face, I wonder what a narwhal fishman looks like? I bet they'd resemble a humanoid unicorn with gills. Focus Keiko!

"Could you be more specific, little girl."

That wasn't a question, that was a statement. He definitely took offense. I quickly retract my hand from his arm but he's faster. Arlong catches my wrist with his webbed hand, another feature I hadn't noticed earlier. He continued to stare intently at me as if he were trying to see my very soul. For some reason, I felt almost naked under his eyes.

I tried twisting my hand out of his grasp to no avail so I have no course but to talk my way of the jaws of death. "I truly mean no offense. It's just, your skin. It feels like mine."

Arlong narrows his eyes, "of course it feels like yours, it's skin. I'm a fishman. Humanoid. I have arms and legs as you do, fingers and toes too. Why would I not have skin as you have?"

Maybe he was getting angry or maybe I just really confused him. Might as well own up to my question. I didn't want to ask the question direct in case it was a truly stupid one, but now I either elaborate or I die what may be a very painful death. Though I must admit, if this man is what my death looks like, damn. Way more pleasant than an unknown creature is black robes with a scythe. This guy may be scary but he was also attractive. There could be worse ways to go if I had time to think about them.

"Do fishmen not live in the sea?" Not my question but now I was getting confused at his confusion.

"In a way. We live on an island that's underwater, why?"

"An underwater island? I don't know how to process that. That's beside the point anyway. My point is you have human-like skin but you're supposedly a shark. Shouldn't you feel like a shark instead?"

Arlong finally stopped glaring at me and burst out laughing, while still holding my wrist, though he did loosen the grip a little bit. He certainly wasn't trying to break my hand but he might have bruised it. "You thought I was going to feel like sandpaper?!"

I looked down at the sand, blushing from embarrassment. "Well yeah, because you're a sawshark." Shit, my eyes are watering again. I hate that crying is my body's go-to-reaction for nearly everything. It's partly way I live outside the village, one can only take so much harassment.

Arlong's laughing slowed and he took a few deep breaths to steady himself. "You really haven't encountered a fishman before then. No, sharkmen do not feel like sharks because we aren't sharks. We're more akin to mammals just as humans are. We have skin and hair and our women give birth to live babies just as humans do."

I cannot lift my head, the tears won't stop so I just stare at the sand and listen to what is turning out to be a very educational lecture. Arlong decides to continue when I don't respond, "unlike humans we have webbed fingers and toes as I'm sure you've noticed by now. We have gills on our necks for breathing underwater and lungs for breathing on land. We command the water but even we have to be careful in the Grand Line. She is an unforgiving landscape."

I quietly nod in understanding. He finally lets go of my wrist and tilts my chin up, forcing me to look at him through blurry, watery eyes. "You're very unusual for a human, you didn't fear us when we arrived yesterday. You approached with curiosity and a desire to understand us. No human has done that to me or my crew." Arlong proceeded to wipe my tears away as he finally stood up. "Perhaps we'll have another conversation on another day."

"Does this mean you aren't going to kill me?"

He chuckles, "No little one, I'm not. I only ask for one thing in return for today's lesson."

It's my turn to tilt my head to the side in confusion, "and what's that?"

"Tell me your name."

And just like I did when they first landed here yesterday morning, I smiled. "My name is Keiko."

"I look forward to tomorrow's question, Keiko." Arlong left me on the beach grinning like a smitten schoolgirl. I got my answer to my question, and while it was a truly disappointing answer—I wanted him to feel like sandpaper, I didn't die and I may have made a new friend.

I love Keiko - and I should’ve been more clear, but OC to me kind of covers any flavor of original character - self insert, reader type, OC as commonly referred to, etc.

I’m happy to hear about them all ^_^

I love this story! Her question, the progress of the tale, the interaction. You may make a fan of me yet (for Arlong, I mean, I already love Keiko.)

I’m just about off to bed for the night, so I don’t have much else to say, but thank you so much for sharing this, and please try to get some more rest too! Damn time change is such a pain >.<

[namimikan]

possibly unpopular opinion, I think Lucia should have escaped with Modeus after the fire. I think it’s stupid of her to stay behind in a place that is actively becoming more dangerous for her, and I don’t see her logic in it at all

Hm, I kind of agree to a point.

I kind of think it's stupid of her to escape with Modeus? But I'd enjoy Lucia running away on her own and exploring the terrain more, and seeing how big the world is rather than: known locations are pretty much, her and Kirsi's old home, and the castle grounds. We know that Norrix's home country is somewhere, and if there are other places on the map, I want to see it.

Honestly, I think Lucia going with Modeus is more reckless? I'd almost expect Norrix/Ricon/Reimund sending soldiers after them -- I'm not exactly saying that Modeus is property of Norrix, but I wonder if most people who see Modeus as Norrix's responsibility/creation don't really care to make that distinction, or even think that Modeus is his own person. Modeus is valuable, even as a one of a kind, and I'm not sure people would stop looking for Modeus based on his potential/future ironkind experiments, just because he ran away.

I mean, Kirsi would miss Lucia, and would want people to look for her, if she disappeared without a trace. I do wonder if Lucia might be like 'oh Kirsi will forget about me anyway~'. I'm doubtful to say whether Lucia might leave her a letter and try to explain, or even, IDK, get Baynard and Peres to be the middle men, and try to pacify Kirsi.

But IDK, I feel like people would try harder to look for Modeus rather than Lucia.

It is a risk for Lucia to stay in the castle. But it also feels like Ricon is the only one who is actively a threat to her? She might genuinely just be hoping that Ricon is an temporary guest who will leave sooner or later. Then again, if Lucia gets exposed, who will truly be on her side? She's safe because Kirsi favours her, at the start of the story, but Kirsi could easily turn against her once she finds out about the secrecy, and feel betrayed, and publicly reject her, they're already on shaky ground even if both want to try and repair their strained relationship. Norrix is currently wrestling with this dilemma, and he could go either way. Reimund might be understanding, but his passivity to Ricon's elves might indicate that he will be complicit and let her be punished.

However, Lucia can try and get the king on her side and enact new laws. Reimund likes her well enough, trusts her, values her judgment. I feel that Lucia showing Reimund the injustices fairies face in his city does weigh on his mind, so he's beginning to be open to change, and he's gradually becoming more confident and assertive as king. If she confides in Reimund, she can probably change how the humans change their perception on how fairies are seen, even tho she has a lot of bias and criticisms to face, on both fairy and human sides.

IDK. She's too much a human for fairies, and too much a fairy for humans. Quinn is probably right that she's kind of damned either way, and her being a monarch on top of that? Well, it would be interesting to see other fairies out for her blood and try to make her pay for her ancestor's crimes. Would other fairies genuinely be willing to help her out, after the privileged life she lived?

I do think Lucia wants to do something about it tho, and her running away really wouldn't fix the fairy-human conflict. She's in the eye of the storm, and while it's a risk because people don't know the truth about her, she can still make some gambits to change people's minds. The problem is that she's not willing to risk herself, and you can't win big if you don't risk big, and Lucia has had a life time of risking very little, because she and her foster father are convinced it's safer that way. And it kind of is, but the stress that comes with it is exhausting.

But also: if the fire was because of her magic going out of control, the mage fever... do fairies have a cure? Is her best bet to try and get Norrix to save her somehow? Was her life on a countdown the more she tried to use magic? IDK, maybe she can learn more off the books, and try and disguise herself some more, and figure out the cure on her own.

But I suppose a lot depends on how her identity gets revealed, and how other characters in power handle it, and then yeah, with hindsight go, yeah she should have run away after the fire.

I think there's some merit in staying (changing the social norms, getting cured?), but I would have been intrigued in Lucia running away (world building), but I'm a little bit skeptical at Modeus coming along for the journey, though he'd be a great bodyguard, and he could see the world as well, and eloping is sweet, ngl. I feel like the story would have featured too many people trying to track them down, because, uh, a walking and talking suitor of armour is pretty easy to notice.

I mean, hey, she also has to stay in the castle bc of the vow she made with Quinn, and try and get them out, but if she ran away after the fire, this wouldn't be an issue. But it would probably weigh on her, because they're the first fairy she got to befriend, and knowing that Quinn remains imprisoned while she's running away might not sit right with her. So, right now, she does have to get them out, or she will die, but after Quinn gets out, if Quinn asked if Lucia wanted to run away with them (platonically), I'm not sure Lucia would readily agree to it, even though she might be tempted to meet with more fairy folk, and try and bear the brunt of their scorn. Some might not blame her, but. Who knows, really?

[furvus-eques]

BASICS.

full name.  Sparda  pronunciation.  Spar-duh nicknames.  The Dark Knight, Betrayer, Savior, God height.  6′4 (Guessing. But I am sure he is as tall as Dante and Vergil if not a few inches taller; in his human disguise anyway.) age.  Unknown zodiac. n/a spoken languages.  english, demonic (possibly a ton of others given his age and time in the human world)

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.

hair colour.  white eye colour.  icy blue skin tone.  pale body type.  big and built accent.  none dominant hand.  ambidextrous posture.  Pretty good scars. none tattoos.  none most noticeable features.  Tall, White hair; and a demon

CHILDHOOD.

place of birth.  Underworld hometown.  n/a birth weight / height.  n/a manner of birth.  unknown first words.  unknown  siblings.  unknown parents.  unknown parental involvement.  unknown

ADULT LIFE

occupation.  None current residence.  Redgrave City close friends.  Matier, Modeus, Baul relationship status.  Widowed (Depending on verse) financial status.  Loaded driver’s license.  none criminal record.  Unknown vices.  alcohol, reading, junk food

SEX & ROMANCE.

sexual orientation.  pansexual romantic orientation.  panromantic preferred emotional role.  submissive  |  dominant  | switch  |  unsure preferred sexual role.  submissive  |  dominant  |  switch  |  sex repulsed libido.  controlled turn on’s.  Likes butts and hips turn off’s.  rudeness, thieves, liars love language.  Y̴̡̧̧̛̰̹̟͉̲̭̣͍̩̞̙͉̲̞̘̤̘͇̩̑͆̀̀̈́̌͗̄̈́̿͘͝͝͝ơ̴̢͎̖̝̺̹̥̬̟̩͌̔́͛͝ǘ̴̙͙̇̈́͊̈́͒̒͊̄̕̚͠ ̴̛̪̲̙̊́̽̃̈́͋̃̄̇͌̽͂͘̕a̴͎͚̻͚͈̥̬̭̣͙̖̥͕̙̫̹̩͛͋̏̀̚͠ŗ̵̩͖̰̭̹͖̯͙͕̂͜ẹ̴̡̨̝͂̊͐͊͋̈́̇͊̎͛́̎̌̇͌̀̈́̔͝͝ ̷͖̀͒̅̿̓̕͝s̷̡̢̠̭͉̠͕͔͖̳͕̬̙̻͓̯͖̜͖̅̽̅̔̂̐͠o̶̲͈͖̬͉͕̞̟̠̪̘̘̤̠̟͉̘̩͊̅̉͘͜ͅ ̵̹̱̹̳̝̟̀̿̒͑̏̀̑͗͘̚͘͜p̵̢̧̡͎̯̦̼̮̞̱̙̺͎̩̲͓̠͍̏̔͐̾̊̿͒͑̏̂́̎̈̈́̄̕͝ŕ̴̢͕̺̥͕̥̣̻̭͖̞͚̱̤̱͓̥̌̀͐ͅę̷̢̨̨͇̘̞̻͓̗̝̟̥̮͉̗̜̬̖̳͎̈́̌̓̅̾t̴̨̧̲̳̺̳̹͓̱̞̦̘̲̃̋̀̇̑̒̀͒̇̏̉͝͝t̶̢͈̜̼̖̣̮̪̩͕̻̠̼̙̞̮̙̭̬̀͐̃͐̃͗̽̀͛̚͠ͅy̷̨̡̢̬̥̝͈̗̗̮̳͇͚͎̣̘͍͉̜̣̒̔̎̓̒͒͆́̈́̀̍.̴̧̡̧̛̬̰̤͎͍̼̱͈̫̘̎̊͂̐̊͒̈́̈̈́͆̀͑̋̎̇͜͠ relationship tendencies.  very affectionate, protective and giving

MISCELLANEOUS.

character’s theme song.  (I honestly dont know on this one)  hobbies to pass the time.  reading, fighting, hunting demons mental illnesses.  none physical illnesses.  none left or right brained.  Left fears.  losing people he loves, failing to save someone self confidence level.  Pretty fucking high vulnerabilities.  too forgiving

tagged by: @dantes--rebellion tagging: @durativo, @silxerbullet, @yamatodad, @eva-sparda-the-witch, @littlereddevilhunter, @ofcreed, @ichorhexrt, @gelum-lumen